Smokey Split Pea Soup

A smokey flavored Split Pea soup without the ham bone!

INGREDIENTS:
14 cups water
2 medium onions, diced
4 stalks celery, diced
1 bunch green onions, sliced
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 large russet potatoes, peeled and diced
1/8 cup dried parsley
1/8 cup dried basil
3/4 cup green split peas
3/4 cup yellow split peas
1 vegetable bouillon cube
1 dried chipotle pepper
1/2 tbsp. liquid smoke (or to taste)
salt to taste
pepper to taste

METHOD:
1. Bring water to a boil in a large soup pot. Add all ingredients (except the salt, pepper, and liquid smoke) to the pot and stir around a bit. Cover and gently simmer for about an hour.

2. Remove the dried chipotle pepper and discard. Transfer 2/3 of the soup to a blender in batches. Blend into a nice puree, and mix back in with the remaining 1/3 of the soup that was not blended. (If you are lucky enough to have an immersion blender, this would be the best tool for this process).

3. Cover and gently simmer for about 30 minutes. You might need to add a bit of water depending on how thick you like your soup. Make sure that the soup does not come to a boil.

4. Season with salt and pepper and desired amount of liquid smoke. Serve and enjoy!

Makes six large servings.